


Cigarettes and Slow Dances

by hannahindie



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Reader Insert, Steve Harrington - Freeform, Stranger Things fanfic, Stranger Things fanfiction - Freeform, steve x reader - Freeform, stranger things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 17:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17084318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahindie/pseuds/hannahindie
Summary: Steve notices the reader sitting by herself outside of the middle school when he drops off Dustin. It makes him wonder what he may have been missing.





	Cigarettes and Slow Dances

Steve watched as Dustin strutted into the school, and couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw him stop in front of the window next to the door and check his hair in the reflection. Dustin may be a little shithead, much like the rest of their rag tag group of friends, but Steve couldn’t help but like the kid.

Dustin disappeared inside and just as Steve shifted the car into gear, he saw Nancy laughing as she dipped punch into someone’s cup. He couldn’t see Jonathan, but he knew he was in there. Mike had complained how stupid it was that she was practically a chaperone, and Will had agreed because Jonathan was also going to be there. At least, that’s what Dustin had told him on the way over. His heart ached, but she looked happy. In the end, that’s what was important.

His eyes dropped to the steering wheel and he stared at his hands for a moment, his knuckles white as he gripped it tightly, and sighed. “This is stupid,” he muttered under his breath. He brought his eyes back up to the road, but noticed another figure; this time, sitting on the curb, alone. 

It was Y/N, wrapped up in an ill-fitting coat that was far too big and trying to light a cigarette with trembling hands. He watched as she took a drag and immediately began coughing, waving a hand in front of her to clear out the smoke. He put the car in park and climbed out, then quietly made his way to where she was, his hands jammed in his pockets.

“Those things will kill you, ya know.” She looked up at him and he smiled, and for the first time in days, it was genuine.

“Yea, well…after the past few weeks, what in this town _isn’t_ trying to kill me?”

“Fair enough.” He sat down next to her and held out his hand. She silently handed him the cigarette and he took a slow drag, his eyes slipping shut as he relished the bitter taste of the tobacco. “I haven’t had one in a few weeks, thought maybe I should quit.” He handed it back to her and she tried again. This time, she was able to inhale without choking, and her mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ as she exhaled the smoke.

“Doesn’t look like you’re doing a very good job,” her tone was somewhat flat, but she said it with a smile. Steve suddenly realized just how pretty that smile was.

“Yea, well…I never said I was.” He held his hand out again and she handed him the entire crumpled pack.

“I don’t think I’m going to keep it up. You can have ‘em.” They fell silent, the only sound the crinkle of Steve opening up the cigarette pack, then the click of the lighter as he flicked it to life.

“What are you doing out here, anyway?”

She shrugged, “I dropped off my kid brother. Seems weird for them to be doing something as normal as a Snow Ball, but it’s not like he knows any better. I didn’t feel like going home just yet, feels weird just leaving him.” She wrapped her arms tight around herself and looked up at the sky. “Do you think it’s really over?”

Steve took another drag from his cigarette. “I don’t know,” he said as he exhaled, “I heard Hopper say something about that scientist guy still being alive, I guess El told him she’d heard something from one of his nurses or something. As far as the ….demogorgons, or whatever the hell Dustin and them were calling those things…I don’t know. Hopper said they all died when El closed the gate.”

She sighed, her eyes still on the sky, “But if the upside down is the size of Hawkins…I mean, it’s basically Hawkins, right? How do we know there aren’t more things in there?”

Steve shrugged, “I don’t know, Y/N…I guess we don’t know. But we do know how to handle that weird shit, and I for one have a give ‘em hell attitude, so I’m not too worried about it.”

Muffled music interrupted the otherwise quiet night as someone swung the door open, and though he couldn’t hear the words, Steve could tell that it was a slow song.

“Man, I can remember my first middle school dance, especially that first slow song. It was awkward as hell. I’ll never forget it, I danced with Caroline Miller, the most popular girl in 7th grade. I’m still not sure how I managed it, but she stayed with me the whole song. I’m pretty sure I stepped on her toes more than the floor.” He chuckled to himself, then looked at Y/N from the corner of his eye. She was staring at her hands and picking at the hem of the too long sleeve. “What about you?”

“I…uh…I only went once. I never actually danced, though.” She kept her head down, purposely avoiding Steve’s gaze. “I’ve never actually danced at any of them.”

Steve’s eyes widened in surprise, “Why not?”

“No one ever asked,” she muttered, so quiet that Steve almost didn’t hear her.

Steve frowned, suddenly angry at anyone that would have made her sad before. It occurred to him that he may have, at one point, been the cause of that sadness, and he stood suddenly, “Well, I can’t let that stand.”

She watched him in surprise as he walked over to his car and started it. She heard the static of a radio being turned on, then the rampant flipping of channels until Steve found what he was looking for. He shut the door and the music flowed through his open window. He walked over to Y/N and held his hand out, a smile pulling up the corner of his mouth. “Dance with me?”

She let him take her hand and pull her up from the curb, and he slipped both hands down to her waist.

_Sometimes you picture me–_  
_I’m walking too far ahead_  
_You’re calling to me, I can’t hear_  
_What you’ve said–_  
_Then you say–go slow–_  
_I fall behind–_  
_The second hand unwinds_

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked quietly as they swayed slowly.

Steve looked at her, confusion on his face, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

She shrugged, “I dunno…it’s just, we’ve gone to school together for years and we barely spoke until the whole ‘the world almost ended’ thing. We haven’t really even talked since then.”

_If you’re lost you can look–and you will find me_  
_Time after time_  
_If you fall I will catch you–I’ll be waiting_  
_Time after time_

Steve stared at her for a moment as he thought about the past few weeks, and everything that had happened. He glanced over Y/N’s shoulder at Nancy, who was dancing with Dustin, before they disappeared into the crowd.

“Yea, sorry…it’s been…it’s been a long couple of weeks.” He looked back at her to find that she was staring at him. She quickly averted her eyes, and he had the sudden urge to lift her chin back up so he could look her in the eye. “I’ve been meaning to thank you…you know…for saving me. I should have done it sooner.”

She shook her head, “I didn’t really do anything. Anybody could have distracted those demo-dogs.”  

This time, he allowed himself to gently tuck his finger under her chin and lifted it so that their eyes met, “Anybody could have, but _you_ were the one that did it. So…thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

_After my picture fades and darkness has_  
_Turned to gray_  
_Watching through windows–you’re wondering_  
_If I’m OK_  
_Secrets stolen from deep inside_  
_The drum beats out of time–_

They continued to sway back and forth silently. Steve pulled her in closer, hoping that she wouldn’t mind, and his heart sped up when he felt her arms tighten around his neck. Even though looking at Nancy still hurt and probably would for awhile, he was beginning to think that maybe he’d been missing out on something right in front of him. He pulled back a little so that he could look at her again and she tilted her head.

“What?”

“Oh..nothing…I just, umm…do you wanna go grab some food? I have to come back here to get Dustin anyway, so I could drop you off.” She smiled, and Steve thought that he’d like to be the cause of that more often.

“Yea, sure…sounds good.” They walked towards the car and he felt her hand slip into his.

Yea…he could get used to this.

_If you’re lost you can look–and you will find me_  
_Time after time_  
_If you fall I will catch you–I’ll be waiting_  
_Time after time_


End file.
